Top Al-Qaeda Commander Killed by U.S. Drone in Pakistan
- Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:08am by
Scott Baker
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — A top al-Qaida commander and possible replacement for Osama bin Laden was killed in an American drone-fired missile strike close to the Afghan border, a fax from the militant group he heads and a Pakistani intelligence official said Saturday.
Ilyas Kashmiri’s apparent death is another blow to al-Qaida just over a month after bin Laden was killed by American commandos in a northwest Pakistani army town. Described by U.S. officials as al-Qaida’s military operations chief in Pakistan, the 47-year-old Pakistani was one of five most-wanted militant leaders in the country, accused of a string of bloody attacks in South Asia, including the 2008 Mumbai massacre, as well as aiding plots in the West.
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His death was not confirmed publicly by the United States or Pakistani officials. Verifying who has been killed in the drone strikes is difficult. Initial reports have turned out to be wrong in the past, including one in September 2009 that said Kashmiri had been killed. Sometimes they are never formally denied or confirmed by authorities here or in the United States.
But a fax from the militant group he was heading — Harakat-ul-Jihad al-Islami’s feared “313 Brigade” — confirmed Kashmiri was “martyred” in the strike at 11:15 p.m. Friday in South Waziristan tribal region. It was sent to journalists in Peshawar.
“God willing, America, which is the ‘pharaoh’ of this, will soon see a revenge attack, and our real target is America,” it said. The statement was handwritten written on a white page bearing name of the group, which has not previously communicated with the media.
The Pakistani official also said Kashmiri was among nine militants killed in the strike. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with his agency’s policy. On Friday night, officials said several missiles hit a compound. The official Saturday said the men were meeting in an apple orchard near the house when the missiles hit.
Kashmiri’s name was on a list of militants that the United States and Pakistan recently agreed to jointly target, officials have said. The successful strike could help repair ties between the two countries that were badly damaged by the unilateral American raid, especially if Islamabad helped provide intelligence leading up to the attack.
Said to be blind in one eye and missing a finger, Kashmiri was one of the country’s most accomplished — and vicious — militants. He was so close to al-Qaida’s central command that he had been mentioned as a contender for replacing bin Laden, though many analysts thought the fact that he was not an Arab meant he was unlikely to get the post.
Indian officials have alleged he was involved in the 2008 Mumbai siege that killed more than 160 people. He has also been named a defendant in an American court over a planned attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.
In an ongoing terror trial in Chicago, testimony from an American-Pakistani militant has alleged that Kashmiri helped plan the Mumbai siege and wanted to attack U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Kashmiri had been angry over U.S. drone attacks inside Pakistan and wanted to target the company, David Coleman Headley testified.
Kashmiri has most recently been linked to last month’s 18-hour assault on a naval base in Karachi. He is also accused of masterminding several bloody raids on Pakistan police and intelligence buildings in 2009 and 2010, as well as a failed assassination attempt against then-President Pervez Musharraf in 2003.
The U.S Department of State says he organized a 2006 suicide bombing against the U.S. consulate in Karachi that killed four people, including an American diplomat.
American drones began firing missiles at al-Qaida and Taliban targets along the border in 2005, but the attacks picked up pace in 2008 and have risen in frequency ever since. Pakistani army officers and politicians publicly protest them, too weak to admit to working with the ever unpopular America in targeting fellow Pakistanis, but the country’s intelligence agencies have been known to occasionally provide targeting information.
Opposition to the strikes grew this year after a CIA contractor shot and killed two Pakistanis in the street, triggering ever more intense anti-American anger. After the bin Laden raid, which was seen by many here as an outrageous violation of the country’s sovereignty, the parliament issued a declaration calling for the attacks to end.
Pakistani leaders were not immediately available for comment on Friday’s attack. Kashmiri was accused of killing many Pakistanis, including police and army officers, so their public reaction may be muted.
The United States does not acknowledge the CIA-run program, though its officials have confirmed the death of high-value targets before, including the head of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, in 2009 — a strike welcomed by many Pakistan officials because he too was a sworn enemy of the country.
Washington says the strikes are accurately killing militants and are disrupting plots against the West as well as planned attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
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Comments (129)
RightPolitically
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:38pmThese evil bastards are being sent to their just reward…….HELL!
Report Post »Newsjunki
Posted on June 6, 2011 at 3:15pmAmen to that!
Report Post »alcostotle
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:35pmHoly crap! They killed Zack Galifina…galefu…That dude from the hangover!
Report Post »Its Gonna Getcha
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:28pmHopefully the trove of digital information we captured will be the exact negative of all holy books.
Report Post »Bernard
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:17pmThis is a huge victory for America. Ilyas Kashmiri is one of two leaders who has been actively engaged in the Afghani war since it’s incept. He is well known in that part of the world and this blow along with the assassination of Osama Bin Laden will surely assure a major terrorist attack either within the US or US interests abroad.
Report Post »Liberal Media Dropped Ball On Nine-Eleven
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:13pmDig those rose tinted glasses. Sure that ain’t Peter Fonda behind the beard?
Report Post »TMan2020
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:12pmGood job! Next…
Report Post »ronmorgen
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:07pmNow, how about dropping a big one right in the middle of Islamisdad?
Report Post »ronmorgen
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:13pmI meant Islamisbad. Bad Islam.
Report Post »ronmorgen
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:17pmCorrection Islamabad. Islam – Bad.
Report Post »tomloy
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:07pmDing dong the witch is dead! This brings to mind an old song. The title I believe was “Another one bites the dust.”.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:00pmI like the use of drones to kill our enemies,there‘s no risk of our guys getting killed so what’s the downside? One minute the cockroach is walking around and all of a sudden boom dead cockroach,it’s great keep it up.
Report Post »liberalsarealiens
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:58amBuuh Byeee!
Report Post »MoreC02
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:54amThis is all Bush’s fault!
Report Post »Steelhead
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:35pmyes it was Bush’s folly. Thank God for Obama and his leadership
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:51am” many analysts thought the fact that he was not an Arab meant he was unlikely to get the post.”
Hey, where’s the ACLU to sue al qaida for RAAAAAACISM???
Report Post »His Lamb is Satanic
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:47amAnother bad lamb slaughtered. Good shooting! An atomic bomb would work well, and save a lot of time and American lives.
Report Post »BlesstheJews
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:44amWe’ve been killing “Top Al-Qaeda Commanders” for the past 10 years. How many top commanders do they have?
Report Post »Bushie
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:51amRats breed in masses.
Report Post »wordweaver
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:43amIf our presence in the region is to continue much longer, then this is how we should fight the fight. Let’s use our superior technology to confound terrorists and minimize risk to our brave troops. I don’t think many Americans truly understand what a forbidding territory this is to operate ground troops. God bless them over there, but let’s keep putting those drones in the air. They work!
Report Post »Bushie
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:42amIt’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood.
Report Post »BONETRAUMA
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:41amAdd your comments
Report Post »The_Rev_In_Co
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:29pmNo Comment!
Report Post »ED4237
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:35amA dead Alqeda is a good Alqeda. The more gone the better.
Report Post »Southernguy
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:29amOne down…………40 million to go ;)
Report Post »Seabee79
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:27amI hear they rub a pork chop over the nose of the missiles.
Report Post »OhSuzieQ
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 9:54pmMy post was for Fairy…
Report Post »saviorammo
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:25amBy the way, did you all pick up on the last name. Trace it back, all the way back to where it comes from. And follow the trail to our true enemy!
Report Post »tifosa
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:17amUh uh uh, another one bites the dust! Obama2012! :)
Report Post »travlman77
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:28amSorry but giving Obama credit for this is like giving Ronald McDonald credit for getting a great burger.
Report Post »It’s the men and women at the front lines not the clown at the top!
Exrepublisheep
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:41amAdvantage Obama
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:35pmMen and women at the front lines? What a bunch of bull. We never should have sent our military over there to be slaughtered. Why should we kill our men in hand to hand combat when we can send over the drones?
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:58pmPlease. BHO didn’t even want to take out OBL – just look at his ugly mug in the situation room. BHO had NOTHING to do with this, little fairy. A dead skunk could get more votes the the traitor in chief in 2012
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 4:12pmDrones will be flying over a city near you in the not so distant future….under the auspices of security
Report Post »sissykatz
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:03pmTravelman77
I LOVE IT !!!!!! YOU ARE RIGHT. I love the analogy.
Report Post »OhSuzieQ
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 9:49pmOMG!! No Way!!
Report Post »tifosa
Posted on June 5, 2011 at 10:13amThe Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Obama, gave the order on the Friday before the attack. period. Much as rw ideologues try to say otherwise, and lies are spun, that’s the fact jack. :^)
Report Post »LittleLordFauntleroy
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:16amOk, That is great news.
Report Post »travlman77
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:13amOne snake head at a time, until one day no one will dare to step up.
Report Post »saviorammo
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:24amToo bad the head is right here in America!
Why is MSNBC on this story?
Why do we even need to publicly display any of these maggots?
Arrogance will just continue to stir the pot with the hard liners. Egypt and Lybia are doing enough damage. Either unleash the hounds or get the hell out. Or just admit it’s all about the drugs, oil, and minerals.
Truth, shall always set you free.
Report Post »RLTW
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:33pmWe’ve killed the #3 guy so many times now it’s ridiculous, at this point there’s only about a billion more ready to step in.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 4:29pmI knew there was some use for these stupid kiddie video games. wow, I am loving it !
Report Post »Sam Brown
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:12amI wonder if Washinton would straighten up if we had a drone flying over them?
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:16amNo, they are just like the ones killed already with drones. They just aren’t smart enough.
Report Post »silentwatcher
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:21amtough break
Report Post »Edct
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:21amPraise God (the real one, not the satanic false little g god alla) for the death of another pig sucking infidel muslim terrorist murderer.
Report Post »Support Israel
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:27amSUPPORT ISRAEL
PEOPLE, it’s happening again. This time we cannot say we didn’t know
Report Post »CatB
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:28am@EDCT
Amen! to that!
TEA!
Report Post »joe conservative
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:33amGreat job! Now we need to get all the Muslim Brotherhood nuts. This is going to be the top terror organization in the near future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcRU63qCJkw And this video shows how the liberal media is helping.
Report Post »Obama Bin Lying
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:40amAccording to Pakistan, he wasn’t in their country. Same as Bin Laden, same as Al Zawahyri…so on
WHy does Washington insist on giving them money we don’t have???
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:43amTime to que up “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen : )
Report Post »CultureWarriors
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:54amAnother one bites the dust …
Tough business to be in.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:18pmOne more now has gone to join UBL, Kevorkian and the 72 smiling goats awaiting the martyrs of the radical ideals…we salute the soldiers on the line for defending this nation. May God keep you safe til you can come home, and help us here to keep the nation safe from the enemies of DC until you do.
Report Post »Professional Infidel
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:22pmBooHoo, step up, who’s next??
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:31pmHow come Bush didn’t kill any terrorists with drones? Why?
Here’s why;
http://www.slate.com/id/2117535/
Report Post »Now this is Art
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 12:40pmawesome…kill ‘em all.
Report Post »pavnvet
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 1:01pmThey must realize that at some point they will run out of virgins…perhaps they already have….what a pity.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 1:25pmHey Mossbrain, Obama did worse, so that’s not why:
http://norunnyeggs.com/2009/04/barack-hussein-obama-bows-to-his-master/
Bush’s use of drones was measured, because the Pakistan people — and by extension the Pakistani govt.– would have become hostile, as they have done with Obum. Now they have sided with the Taliban/Al-Qaeda, and see us as their enemy. They hate Obum’s guts, and they are a Muslim nation with nukes. Does that sound like good policy to you? Obum has played a major role in the Islamization of Pakistan, so who cares if one hairy jihadist is smoked by an Obama drone. There are ~1.6B Muslims on the planet, and a significant percentage of them get radicalized every year.
“The first strike under the new administration occurred just three days after President Obama’s inauguration. Fifty-three drone attacks have been reported just in Pakistan in 2009 — more than during the entirety of the Bush presidency.” …when innocents are inadvertently killed, drone strikes can foment public anger and increase the popularity of militants. “Every one of these dead noncombatants represents an alienated family, a new desire for revenge, and more recruits for a militant movement that has grown exponentially even as drone strikes have increased.” http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-tortured-logic-of-obamas-drone-war
Read the whole article. It’s not even Repub, and shows what a hypocrital POS Obum is. Get a clue about who you support.
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 2:42pmPractice for Patriots
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 3:34pmI guess his usefulness had expired.
Report Post »Classical Liberal
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 3:49pmI noticed the article mentions how this killing repairs ties with Pakistan damaged by the usage bin laden killing. It makes it sound as though we should be more sorry for killing bin laden than they ought to be for him hiding under their noses. I am not impressed by obamas drone attacks or his weak foreign policy.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 4:19pmyou bet..
Report Post »Sheepdog911
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 4:28pmNice to see another Porker fried. Pigs all.
Report Post »D0ntTread0nMe
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:13pmwell that’s one less son of a, to worry about. wow if only this administration was as good at shrinking the size of government as they are at blowing up terrorists, I would be able to get back into the stock market.
Report Post »http://www.mythoughtsfromthemiddle.blogspot.com
UPSETVET
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:37pmTwo down and a lot more to go. Osama-bin-Laden and LLyas Kasmiri arrived at the “Muslim Martyrs Paradise” expecting something like Club Med with 72 virgins waiting for each of them. What a surprise to discover there’s no “paradise” for murderers, only hell, flame and pain and it’s FOREVER !
Report Post »chazman
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 5:44pmHa, ha! Killed by a U.S. drone! Ha, ha! Burn in hell you muslim murderer! No ALLAH where yer goin’! Just SATAN!!
Report Post »Thevoice
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 6:28pmWOW ….Another needle in the hay stack found…I can see it now….The HR department down in al-Qaida central … putting up the new positions open list on the employee bulletin board in the lunchroom. …And a group of dirty sandal wearing Islamic ba$tards ..Looking it over ..Hussein says to Mohammad look they got more openings in the US for full blow weapon jadiaests …Barrack says to Mohammad Yea my cousin got his US visa right away and got in right away, with the other dirty ba$tards they sent in from Africa ..My cousin was sent in and they sent him up to Minnesota ..Then they gave him work training and he is now a cross country truck driver. Boy the Americans are so stupid ..My other five cousins are working in meat and poultry plants …How stupid are the Americans….Then the other Mohammad steps up ..My family took the move to repopulate Detroit …There is a big community of future Al Qaida there, the pay isn’t as great as Afghanistan or Pakistan but you are safe from drone attack…Mohammad says look they are still taking application for the top spot ..It says you need video type personality ..you get free hide away and goats and two wives …
Report Post »v-vet1968
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 6:45pmmaybe got his 72 virgin pigs?
Report Post »ramburner
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 7:59pmWhere was this “leader”? Hmmmm, sounds like a pattern to cover the terrorist group to me! Perhaps ALL of our effort should be in Pahquistaan (correct pronunciation Obbummer)? The USA should get out of the world police business and back into assuring our national interests ONLY.
Report Post »BJColter Country Music Iconoclast
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 8:19pmDo you think if the drone had a Muslim Terrorist Seeker Obama would have to hide in his bunker? So, O claims to have killed another bad guy, yet has just given permission for all the other bad guys to run Israel into the ocean, has instigated, armed, and financed these bastards, and he’ll take the credit for this one little hit. OBAMA IS OSAMA. Here’s a tune I wrote about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqdufoUASMc
Report Post »jzs
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:16pmSeems like you guys are having trouble reconciling the death of Osama Bin Laden and this guy with your belief that the President of the United States is soft on terrorism. Limbaugh says President Obama is in league with Al Qaeda. Most of you believe President Obama is really a Muslim.
But the US government keeps catching and killing the bad guys. Hard to reconcile the talking points with the reality isn’t it? It’s called “cognitive dissonance.”
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on June 4, 2011 at 11:42pmJZS They don’t vote Demorat……… simple
Report Post »If they bordered our country it would be a different story.
kryptonite
Posted on June 5, 2011 at 7:33amJZS,
Obum’s a Muslim all right, just not a practicing one. If anybody suffers from cognitive dissonance, it’s Barack Obama. He doesn’t know where to stand on any given issue. He has flip-flopped back and forth on almost everything related to national security, but ultimately he just wants to be left alone, first because he only cares about himself, and second, because he doesn’t have the brains to deal with the 3AM call.
Unfortunately, there’s the Muslim extremism thingy that keeps him from enjoying a regal life to the fullest. So he bows to the Muslim world hoping that appeasement will work, but like the good commie that he is, he also tortures by proxy and launches drone attacks against anybody who poses a real threat to his Marxist utopia. That makes him a hypocrite as well.
Report Post »Devil Dog 7175
Posted on June 5, 2011 at 8:22amDamn… This one didn’t last long at all… NEXT!
Report Post »docvet
Posted on June 5, 2011 at 12:59pmRevenge on America, huh? OK, bring it on! They have already lost 2 countries, how many more, starting with Pakistan?
Report Post »jzs
Posted on June 5, 2011 at 8:36pmkryptonite, there’s a simpler explanation than yours. Obama is going after the extremists who would do us harm, and he‘s trying to make peace with those who won’t. Sounds like a good strategy to me.
Some wise person said “blessed are the peacemakers.”
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on June 6, 2011 at 2:02amYou’re such an ideologue, JZS. How is someone who instigates revolts across the Muslim world, invades Libya, drone-bombs Pakistan like crazy and polarizes the freest nation in the world a peacemaker? Hand me that NPP, pls. I need to wipe my butt.
Is “trying to make peace” your euphemism for appeasement? Give me ONE instance where it has worked. Even those cool raping mobs he inspired to depose Mubarak hate us — and him. Pooh!
Report Post »jzs
Posted on June 6, 2011 at 11:15amKryptonite – killing terrorists is not “appeasement.” I think you need to look that word up before you try to use it again.
Report Post »Secret Squirrel
Posted on June 6, 2011 at 6:18pm..
Report Post »“Quick, call Achmid, we’re running out of virgins!”
kryptonite
Posted on June 7, 2011 at 1:50pmJZS, I spoke of TWO different policies. Back to my first comment:
“So he bows to the Muslim world hoping that appeasement will work, but like the good commie that he is, he also tortures by proxy and launches drone attacks against anybody who poses a real threat to his Marxist utopia.”
You conveniently relabeled the appeasement policy above as “trying to make peace,“ and called that warmonger a ”peacemaker.” I challenged your use of the latter (with examples) and asked you to produce ONE instance where his supposed “trying to make peace” has worked. Still waiting…
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